An Unwanted Side Story
by KassyMalone
Summary: After all the turmoil bought about by the Kirklands, there was no satisfying conclusion for anyone, no full stop to end the drama: everyone just had to keep going. Off to university, Alfred, Matthew and Romano try their best to put the past in it's place, but some things are not so easily forgotten. Human AU, sequel to Unwanted
1. Chapter 1

So at the end of Unwanted I said I'd take a break, do my original stuff, finish Three's a Crowd... but since then I've been the busiest person alive: I got a different position at work, I've been editing practically non-stop since Unwanted ended and what should have been two weeks off has been so jammed full of stuff that needs doing that I'm going back to work on Monday for a break! As such, I'm a bit desperate to get creative again - now that I'm no longer editing I need to get the creative juices flowing before that part of my brain dries up completely...

I also miss hearing from my lovely reviewers. So for those of you who enjoyed Unwanted, I present An Unwanted Side Story (double meaning! aren't I clever?). I can guarantee that, unless something goes terribly wrong, this story will not be 40 chapters.

* * *

**An Unwanted Side Story**

Madeline was practically jumping up and down as she waited for the plane to taxi in. She was so nervous and excited – she was finally going to meet Matthew face-to-face! She hated that her hair was still so short, but at least it wasn't patchy any more. Would he think she was pretty? He wouldn't be overly sensitive, would he? She was officially in remission now, but people were still so awkward around her.

Maddie jumped to her feet as Matthews flight number was called. Her mother laughed and stood as well, taking her arm to calm her down a little.

"Sweetie, you'll wear yourself out." she pointed out "You want to impress this boy, right?"

"Mummy!" Maddie shrieked, blushing "It's not about 'impressing' him! I just want him to like me."

"He's come all the way to Montreal just to be with you." she pointed out with a wink and a nudge "I think he already likes you."

"As long as he doesn't like you too much." her father pointed out sternly "How will we know which one he is?"

"I know what he looks like." Maddie assured "I didn't want him to know what I looked like until my hair grew back."

Her father looked awkward a moment, but recomposed quickly, running a hand through her fine blonde ringlets.

"Your hair's lovely. And if that boy likes you as much as I think he does, he wouldn't have cared."

Maddie blushed. All three looked around as a crowd of passengers started filing out of the terminal, Maddie jumping up onto her toes to get a better look. Her breath caught when she saw him. He was taller than she thought he'd be – he had said he was just over six foot, but 5 foot 3 inch Maddie hadn't realised just how tall that was. He had broad shoulders and pale skin, with fluffy blond hair and gentle eyes. That was definitely Matthew!

"Matty!" she called over the crowd, catching his attention.

He turned those gentle eyes towards her, her heart melting a little as he smiled.

"Maddie!" he greeted, waving at her.

He made his way through the crowd towards her, pulling his giant suitcase with his backpack slung over his shoulder. Despite the long flight, he opened his arms in preparation for a hug, and Maddie was more than happy to oblige him. He carried a little extra around the waist under his loose clothes, but not enough that it was a deal blushed awkwardly as they let each other go.

"Please don't take this the wrong way," he implored "But you're way prettier than I thought you'd be."

"I-I'm not." she stuttered, feeling her face grow hot as she fingered her ringlets "I'm not pretty at all."

"Liar." Matty laughed.

"And why didn't you think my daughter would be pretty?" her father challenged, bringing his attention away from Maddie.

Matthew examined her father a moment, then her mother. After taking in the information, he smiled, shifting his bag on his shoulder as he stood straight.

"Pretty girls usually don't have much of a personality." he admitted "Maddie's so interesting and smart, I thought she must have three eyes."

Her father pouted, but her mother laughed.

"Good save, young man." she congratulated "I'm Alice, Madeline's mother. This one is Marie-Elise, her father."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both." he greeted, shaking her offered hand.

"We have a long drive ahead." Alice informed him "Shall we go?"

"Want me to take your bag?" Maddie offered, gesturing to his backpack.

"It's okay, I got it." Matty assured, smiling at her again.

"_I_ got it." Marie-Elise corrected, grabbing the bag from him and marching off.

Matthew quickly followed with his suitcase, clearly flustered. Alice shook her head, laughing through her nose as she took her daughters arm.

"The only time your father wants to be a man is when boys are flocking around." she joked "I swear the only reason she wore jeans today is so she could look manly."

"That's impossible." Maddie chuckled as they followed them "After all that surgery she'll never look manly again!"

"Your friend seemed awfully okay with your father being a woman." her mother noted.

"I did warn him in advance." she admitted "I talked to him about it a lot during the change."

"And here I was worried about you not talking to anyone."

* * *

Maddie was embarrassingly captivated by Matthews sleeping face. He had long eye lashes, and the way his long hair fell over his face... Alice chuckled to herself in the front passenger seat while Marie-Elise fumed as she drove.

"Stop sulking." Alice teased.

"I'm not sulking." Marie-Elise argued.

"You completely are."

Marie-Elise grumbled, tapping her hands on the steering wheel.

"I thought they were just friends." she complained "But look at how she's looking at him!"

"Daddy, I can hear you." Maddie pointed out.

Her father promptly shut up, pouting at the road ahead, making her mother laugh again.

"Don't be too hard on your father." she encouraged "She's just not ready for you to grow up yet."

"I just don't think it's a good idea for you to live with your boyfriend!" Marie-Elise insisted "You're only 18, and you've only just been declared in remission!"

"He's not my boyfriend." Maddie assured, sounding far sadder than she meant to.

Spying both parents looking at her through the mirrors, she shrugged and looked at her feet.

"I like him." she admitted quietly, just in case he wasn't quiet as asleep as she thought "But he likes someone else. It was kind of awkward for him... it's one of the reasons he came here."

"Is he gay?" Marie-Elise asked bluntly "Because if he is, that would make me feel a lit better."

"Well, the person he likes is a man." Maddie assured.

"Honestly feel better?" Alice asked.

Marie-Elise chewed on her tongue before answering.

"No."

* * *

It was a few days of jet-lag and adjustment before Matthew could start unpacking the boxes his brother had sent ahead. Maddie offered to help, but just ended up sitting on his bed and watching him.

"Sending all this stuff must have been expensive." she figured as she leafed through some of the books he had piled up.

"Yeah, I feel kinda guilty about it." Matthew admitted as he shoved a handful of boxers into the drawer "Francis and Arthur even sent your parents money for my 'rent'! Your dad tried to give it back to me yesterday. I mean... technically it's my mothers money, from the house sale, but still..."

It had been less than six months since his mothers death, Maddie knew he was still sore about it. She tried to think of a way to change the subject.

"But you know, I'm glad you brought so much stuff." she told him "It makes me feel like you're going to stay forever."

"Well, at least four years, right?" he agreed "Thanks again for letting me stay here. I wasn't looking forward to staying in a dorm in a foreign country. I don't think I'm quite ready to live on my own yet, either."

"Thank you for coming." Maddie insisted "Mummy and Daddy wanted me to wait a year or so before going to college, just to make sure the cancer didn't come back. You being there too convinced them to let me go this year."

"Then we both win." Matty laughed "But living in a house full of women is going to be an experience."

"You've lived with women before." she pointed out.

"No mother is a woman in her sons eyes." he pointed out awkwardly "And I don't think Michelle is old enough to count as a woman."

"Who's Michelle?" a voice at the door asked.

They both looked around: Marie-Elise leant against the frame, clad in an apron with a spatula in her hand. She regarded Matthew with suspicion, earrings dangling elegantly.

"My little niece." Matthew admitted, picking up the family photo from the side and handing it to her "She's six years old now – she slept in my bed a whole week before I left!"

"Oh, she's adorable!" Marie-Elise admitted, serious tone dropping when confronted with cuteness "Which one of these is her father?"

"My oldest brother, Francis." he pointed out "He owns a salon. Next to him is my brother Arthur and his fiancé, Ivan. On the end is Alfred, my twin, and my friend Romano."

"Your mother's not in this?"

"No, this was taken after she died." he explained, picking up another picture from the side "This is her."

Marie-Elise gave Matthew a meaningful look, her body posture softening. Did she not know Matthews mother was dead?

"Your father's not in these either." she noted quietly.

"I don't have a father." he replied somewhat coldly.

Marie-Elise took the hint not to ask, handing him back his pictures.

"I've spoken to your brothers on the phone." she admitted "They're really protective, aren't they?"

"Always have been." Matthew chuckled, cold tone disappearing "Alfred is too – Michelles future boyfriends don't stand a chance!"

Madeline watched them from the bed as they chatted. She really wished her father wouldn't dress like that – she was a housewife, did she have to be so sexy all the time? Maddie felt downright ugly next to her with her big glasses and chunky clothes... It's hurtful to a womans pride to be less feminine than her father. She fingered her ringlets, wishing her hair would grow back faster so she could at least look like a girl again.

"... the internet here is pretty good as a result." she heard her father say as she started paying attention again "Not as good as what you'd get in England, but it's still a lot cheaper than using the phone."

"I tried to tell Al that, but I bet he'll still use the phone." Matthew laughed "He'll probably call a lot."

"MY MADELINES!" Marie-Elise suddenly yelled, running back to the kitchen, leaving Matthew dumbfounded.

"Madelines?" he asked Maddy.

"Biscuits." she explained "I swear I got named 'Madeline' because they're my parents favourite."

"Ah, I see."

Matthew pulled a concerned expression, kneeling down in front of her.

"Are you okay?" he asked "You look pale."

"I'm kind of tired." she admitted.

"Shall we take a break?" he offered, ignoring that fact that she hadn't done anything "Take a walk down the shops?"

She shook her head. She still wasn't quite confident enough for casual walks outside.

"Then what about a movie?" he suggested "I bought some real crap with me – five minutes and I can hook my external hard drive up to the tv."

Maddie chuckled, wiping the hair from his eyes.

"Sounds good."

* * *

"Move your arse!"

"You see this big arse box in my hands, eh?! You move your arse!"

"Move my arse where, idiot?!"

"For fucks sake!" Arthur swore, balancing on top of a stool as he fixed the curtains up "Toni, there's room on the bed."

"If he sits on the bed, where the fuck am I going to put this box?" Romano argued.

"Give it to Alfred!"

"And where am I going to put it?" Al pointed out.

"Whose bright idea was it to both move in on the same day?!" Toni exasperated "And why is the rent so high on this box of a flat?!"

"You're the one who bitched at me about 'getting the uni experience'." Romano reminded him "I could have stayed at home!"

"This and that are different things!"

Arthur sighed and went back to his curtains, leaving those two to their bickering. Al checked his phone again, sighing loudly when he put it back in his pocket.

"Waiting for a call?" Arthur asked him.

"Matthew hasn't emailed me." he admitted.

"He emailed you yesterday." the older brother pointed out.

"That was yesterday! He hasn't emailed me today!"

Arthur gave him a withering look. Alfred just pouted, climbing over the boxes towards the door.

"I'm going to set up the router." he announced.

"Don't you dare!" Antonio chastised him "You unpack these boxes before you worry about that shit!"

"But Matthew-"

"Matthew's fine!" Romano agreed "He's been there three months already, hasn't he? Cut the umbilical!"

Before Al could argue, Francis and Ivan appeared in the doorway with more boxes, soliciting more irate arguing from Antonio and Romano. _

* * *

Al stared at his inbox, but only his old messages greeted him. Romano sat on the sofa above him, popping handfuls of popcorn into his mouth as he watched tv.

"Do you think he's doing okay?" Al asked.

"He told you he was, didn't he?" Romano pointed out.

"That was before. Something might have happened since then."

"For fucks sake!" Romano declared"You do realise you're fraternal twins, not recently separated Siamese twins, right?"

"The correct phrase is 'conjoined.'"

"The correct phrase is GET YOUR OWN DAMN LIFE AND STOP OBSESSING OVER YOUR BROTHER!"

"Don't yell!" Al retorted "The walls are thin! Think of the neighbours!"

"They'll get used to it!" Romano declared "This is uni! And you need to get out more! Did you find a job yet?"

"Not yet..." he admitted "But I've got my community service work-!"

"You don't get paid for that." Romano reminded him "You want to get stuck waiting tables with me? It's that or work for Ivan!"

"I know..."

"Stop refreshing the damn page!" Romano swore, grabbing the laptop away from him "Matthew's out having a life, and it's time you did too!"

"But Matty-"

"Has gone to live with a cute girl! Travelled half way across the planet to do so! Get the hint!"

"She's not his girlfriend!" Alfred reminded him, trying desperately to get the computer back without causing him to drop it.

"Yeah, for now." Romano went on "You think he's gonna stay single? For what? Your creepy incestuous crush?"

Al went bright red, looking very awkward.

"Gimme a break." he muttered, looking away from Romano.

Seeing his upset expression, Romano softened a little, putting the laptop down on the kitchen counter behind him.

"I know you miss Matty." he cooed "I miss him too, but you should use this opportunity to move on and finally put this behind you. You gonna hold onto this crush forever? Like you think Matty's every going to return your feelings?"

"Shut up, I know that." Al spat "But I'm not going to hook up with some random person just to force myself to get over this thing. That's not better."

"I'm not saying you should." Romano agreed "Maybe just use this time for a Matthew detox or something. Like, don't contact him for a while."

Alfred frowned at the idea, clearly unimpressed. "How long of a while?"

* * *

That chapter was very short... or at least it felt short after all that editing. They'll get longer as I get into the swing of it again. So as I'm sure you've guessed, this side story is about Alfred, Matthew, Madeline and Romano. Those of you who have read Unwanted to completion will know how it ends for Maddie and Matty, but the journey is always more interesting than the destination. As for Al and Romano... Please look forward to more shortly!

Edit: Thanks to my good friend Sora-Resi, this is no longer a wall of text. Why on earth did it take out all my formatting?


	2. Chapter 2 An Unwanted Addition

So, if it isn't obvious, Alice is fem!England and Marie-Elise is fem!France. I couldn't find a canon name for her, but please let me know if one exists. The last chapter felt a bit awkward, but I think I'm getting back into the swing now. On a side note, apologies for the wall of text the greeted you on the last chapter - an update to the site removed all my formatting for some reason. It's been fixed now, but if it does happen again please let me know! Please enjoy this new chapter!

* * *

**An Unwanted Addition. **

How could she possibly look cute when she had to wear a hat all the time? Her parents were so over protective – she was in remission, they could stop fussing over her at any time! They still insisted on dropping her and Matthew off at university every day and driving them wherever else they needed to go, like they were still children. Matty was very nice about it and always said thank you, but he was clearly uncomfortable.

"What about this one?" Alice suggested.

"Mummy, that's purple – I hate purple."

"You didn't like the pink one either."

"What about this red one?"

"It's so masculine looking, though."

Maddie pouted – how could a hat be masculine looking? It was just a beanie.

"What about this one?" Alice suggested, holding the item up for her to inspect "It's got red on, plus it's got adorable little ears."

"I looks like someone scalped a teddy bear." Maddie snorted "I kinda dig it."

She took the hat and tried it on, admiring it in the mirror. Her hair was just poking through underneath, curling around the edges.

"How does it look?" she asked her mother "Cute?"

"It's very darling." Alice agreed "But aren't you a little old for 'cute'?"

"Look at me." Maddie pouted "I'm too dumpy to pull off sexy like Daddy can, and I'm too young to pull of sophisticated like you. I have to be cute."

"Sweetie," Alice cooed, adjusting the hat on her daughters head "'Sexy's not about what you look like. 'Sexy' is all mental. If you're worried about being sexy, can I assume things are going well with Matthew?"

Maddie blushed, busying herself looking at the clips and berets in the accessory shop.

"It's weird." she admitted "It feels like we've always been together. I mean, we've been friends for years, but only online."

"I can relate." Alice sighed "You father and I have always been together." she grimaced "Always."

"Where's Daddy now?"

"Matthew needed some manly things." she told her "I suppose your father remembers where they are."

"'Manly things'?" Maddie thought "What on earth are 'manly things'?"

* * *

"...This type is good for curly hair, but this type is specially formulated for blonds, so it depends on which one you want to extenuate." Marie-Elise explained, holding up the bottles of shampoo.

"Do I need to extenuate either?" Matthew asked "The stuff Francis bought home was always pretty good."

"It was probably a salon brand." she figured "You're so lucky to have a stylist for a brother."

"Until he starts going on about split ends. What even are split ends?" he sighed "What kind do you use? Your hair is like that naturally, right?"

"It is." Marie-Elise bragged, running her fingers through her golden locks "But you can't use the same kind I do: it's for women."

"So what, my head will catch fire?" Matty joked, poking around the products on the shelf.

"It smells like vanilla and coconut." she warned.

"Curses! It shall surely turn me gay!" Marie-Elise snorted with laughter.

Her fathers heart really wanted to dislike Matthew, but he was such a cutie that she just couldn't. He and Maddie were very similar, and for being a big boy he was pretty much soft as a marshmallow... not that Marie-Elise was ready for Maddie and Matty to start dating any time soon, but she didn't dislike him as a person.

"Seriously, why do women have so many types of shampoo?" the young man wondered "What's the difference?"

"Honey, that would take all day for me to explain." she told him "Is there anything else you need? We have deodorant, shampoo and conditioner, hand cream, odor eaters … condoms?"

"Marie-Elise, you're a married woman!" Matthew mock exclaimed, causing her to laugh again.

"I'm never going to catch you out, am I?"

"House full of brothers." he reminded her "I could use some lozenges, mind."

Like everything else Matthew had picked up that day, he threw two packs of lozenges into the basket. Marie-Elise subtly took one out and put it back on the shelf. Both she and Alice had noted – Matthew bought two of everything, even things he couldn't use two of, like pairs of gloves and two of exactly the same hat. They figured he must be missing his brother, used to buying everything in pairs because they were twins. His older brothers called about once a week to check on him, but Al hadn't called in a while. Matthew would never last the four years at uni if he was getting homesick now.

"One o'clock." Marie-Elise pointed out to him "Time to meet the ladies on the food court. I'm feeling generous today, so I'll buy you a giant cookie."

"Giant?" Matthew asked "How big can a cookie get?"

* * *

"It's as big as his head." Romano marvelled, stared in disbelief at the screen.

"Everything is bigger in America." Al agreed.

"He's in Canada."

"To-may-to, to-mah-to. How long do you think it would take to make a cookie that big?"

"You don't need it." Romano said certainly, shutting the laptop lid.

"Rude."

Romano gave Alfred a look, to which he could only look away. Taking the laptop from Alfred, he got up from the sofa.

"Alright, we had a deal!" he announced "We got Matty's email, now we're going to the gym!"

Al groaned theatrically before going back to his glass of coke, clearly having no intention of moving, but his friend practically slapped it out of his hand.

"Get off your arse!" he demanded.

"I don't want to!" Al argued.

However, Romano wasn't going to take no for an answer this time – he marched into his room, grabbed the pair of jeans from the back of the chair and marched back, holding them up right in front of Al's face.

"You know what these are?" he asked.

"Jeans?" the blond answered obviously.

"Your jeans." Romano told him "The jeans that fit you when we started uni. Do they fit you now?"

No, they most certainly did not. While a few sizes too big for willowy Romano, they were now also several sizes too small for Alfred. Said Alfred looked away guiltily, but that didn't stop him shoving some popcorn into his face.

"STOP EATING YOUR FEELINGS!" Romano shrieked, startling him to the point that he dropped his bowl "I swear to God, Alfred, you are going to fit back in these jeans before Christmas!"

"Why do you care how much I weigh?!" he tried to defend "Go pick up girls or something!"

Romano threw the jeans aside, deadly serious look on his face. Al was more than a little freaked out when he lent down, putting his hands on either side of his face and squashing his chubby cheeks.

"Alfred." he said slowly "You know that jumper Arthur gave you? The one you're wearing right now? It's a hand-me-down. From _Ivan_. He didn't want it because it was too _short_."

Well... Alfred suddenly lost his appetite. Romano said nothing else, but released Alfred's face and pointed at his bedroom. Alfred got up, a little difficultly, to change into his gym gear.

* * *

Romano was sulking, plodding along on the treadmill beside Alfred's. As one would expect, the gym had plenty of pretty girls in, and handsome Romano had the charm and wiles to spark up a conversation with them. What Romano hadn't expected is that none of them really had anything to talk about...

"Like, seriously, you're totally sulking, like, dude." Alfred teased.

"Shut the fuck up." Romano grumbled "If I never hear the words 'like' or 'totally' ever again it'll be too soon."

"I'm guessing we're not going to try and pull girls at the gym again?"

"I've had more coherent conversations with drunks. At least the girls at the union have an excuse."

"Union?" Alfred asked, slowing the speed on his treadmill to chat.

"The students union?" Romano explained "The pub? On the third floor?"

Alfred shook his head, having no idea what he was talking about, which solicited another lecture from Romano about him getting out more. Alfred sped up the treadmill so that he didn't have to listen, causing Romano to call him a bitch. Romano sighed and went back to his treadmill. He didn't need to lose any weight, and he didn't have enough weight on him to bulk up. Without the option of picking up girls, he was really only here to make sure Alfred didn't sneak out to eat and gorge on ice-cream for an hour. There was really nothing less attractive to Romano than stupid girls, no matter how pretty they were. Maybe he could try the coffee shop? He was bought out of his head when a muscular hand tapped on the control panel of his treadmill. A gym-bunny with a ponytail and a towel wrapped around his shoulders looked up at him.

"I hear you say there was a pub on campus?" he asked.

"Yeah, third floor." Romano confirmed "You know that dodgy looking staircase left of the cafeteria? Right up there. If you find the student counsel offices you've gone too far."

"Cool." the man replied happily "What are the prices like?"

"Cheaper than pubs, more expensive than drinking at home. Where's that accent from?"

"Canada." the young man admitted "I'm here to study History. You?"

"Local boy." Romano admitted "I'm studying catering."

"Lemme guess," the young man joked "Grandpa owns a restaurant?"

"Nah, my dad." he answered, impressed that he figured it out "Carriedos, best food in town, bar none. I'm Romano."

"Jacques." the young man responded, shaking the offered hand "Or Jack. Whatever's easier to say."

Spotting Alfred watching the two of them, Jacques flashed a teasing smile.

"You okay there, chubby?"

"Chubby?!" Al shrieked.

"Ignore chubby over there." Romano told Jacques, gesturing vaguely in his direction "He's fat because he eats his feelings."

"Dude!"

"You can answer back when you have healthy coping strategies!" he barked at him.

"Bad breakup, eh?" Jacques chuckled "Harsh."

"You can both piss off!"

Alfred shut off his machine and went to storm off, clearly upset and probably to buy a bag of chips. Jacques caught him, however, holding up his hands.

"Hey, hey, I'm sorry." he said earnestly "I didn't realise you were sensitive about it: I thought insults were just how you communicated in England. Let's start over."

He held out his hand, smiling pleasantly at unhappy Alfred.

"I'm Jacques." he greeted "How about I buy you two a drink?

" "I'll take you up on that." Romano agreed, stepping off the treadmill "But tubby doesn't need an excuse to consume more calories."

The Canadian looked between the two of them, clearly confused to Romano slapped Alfred arse, causing him to yelp, calling him a pervert.

"Seriously though." he said "You guys need to teach me how the insults thing works here."

* * *

"How many more?" Matthew asked.

"Three more." Maddy answered, looking over her reading list "How're your arms holding up?"

"I've lifted trees lighter than this lot."

"Don't exaggerate." she chuckled "Ooh, it's that one there, on the top shelf."

"Why are all your books on the high shelves?" he wondered as he reached up for it, balancing the already fairly large pile of books in his other hand.

"I guess they aren't popular." Maddie supposed.

"'Advanced Mathematical Theory'? I wonder why!"

The textbook was as thick and heavy as a phone book – it really shouldn't be on such a high shelf.

"Grab me one too!" a girl called from the end of the aisle.

Looking around, a bubbly girl the same height as Maddie, arms laden with books, ran towards them. She smiled in a way that was apologetic, but just cheeky enough that you suspected she wasn't sorry at all.

"I thought I'd take advantage while there was a tall person around." she explained "Do you mind, sweetie?"

"Not at all." Matthew obliged, taking another one of them down for her.

"Ooh!" she squealed when she noticed Maddie "You're in my class!"

"Yes, I am." Maddie admitted, feeling a little intimidated by her confidence "I'm Madeline."

"Amelia!" she introduced with a wink "I came up here from Texas and BOY is it cold!"

"I'd be cold too in such a short skirt." Maddie replied.

"Me too." Matty joked.

Amelia laughed a little too loudly, playfully slapping him on the arm.

"You're so funny!" she declared "What's your name?"

"I'm Matthew."

"Wait!" Amelia declared "Maddie and Matty?! That's frickin' adorable! How long have you guys been dating?"

"Uh-"

Amelia danced past Matthew, slipping her arms around Maddies and spinning her around.

"Let's grab a coffee, Mad's, I'm freezing my buns off!" she declared as she started to pull her along.

"Um, okay."

"Come on, Matt's!"

* * *

"Red wine." Jacques muttered, almost to himself as he stared at the glass on the table "That's some classy stuff there."

"Pah, this is drain cleaner." Romano corrected "You want classy, Grandpa Giovanni's cousin has a vineyard in Italy – that's stuff's so classy you can't get a bottle for less than £250!"

Jacques just looked at him a moment, then looked at his drink, then back at Romano.

"This is beer." he said plainly "It tastes good. It's not £250 a bottle."

Romano snickered. He looked at Alfred, who sat quietly looking at his diet coke.

"Worn out?" he asked him.

"Yeah." he admitted.

"I'm not surprised." Jacques laughed "You were really gunning it on that treadmill. Keep up that pace and you'll shift that pudge in no time!"

The barmaid called over the music to tell them that their food was ready. Perhaps out of habit, Romano immediately jumped up to fetch it, manoeuvring through the crowd. There was an awkward silence a moment.

"So, what was her name?" Jacques asked.

"Who?" Al replied.

"The girl who ripped out your heart." he elaborated "Seems she tore it up good."

Alfred shook his head, sitting up straight in an attempt to wake himself up a little. The dark and hot atmosphere in here wasn't helping.

"There was no girl." he admitted.

"A boy? You didn't strike me as the type!"

"There wasn't a breakup. Well, not really. Things have just been kind of hard lately."

"I understand if you don't want to talk about it – we've just met, after all."

"Don't you dare try to get him to talk!" Romano chastised as he returned with their plates "He'll never shut up, and I'll have to live with it! Matty this, Matty that, what's he doing, has he met someone... I just got him to shut up last week!"

"Oh, my!" Jacques chuckled "I won't ask again. Matty, huh?"

"Move your trunk, fatty." Romano ordered, kicking Alfred's leg lightly "You're blocking the table."

"You gonna stop with the fat jokes any time soon?" he grumbled back as he moved his leg "It's kinda hurtful, you know!"

"When you fit back in those jeans." Romano promised as he put the plates down.

"That's unreasonable." Al complained.

"No it's not." he disagreed "Asking you to fit in my jeans is unreasonable."

"Al's right." Jacques defended "I know you're trying to help, but constantly calling attention to it is demoralising."

"Easy for you to say, Hercules." Romano replied "I could probably grate cheese on your stomach."

"I don't know about that, but I have crushed a can with my abs. Hey! How about I help you work out?" Jacques offered "It's always more fun to go to the gym with your bros."

"Not my brother." Alfred muttered petulantly, which resulted in Romano shoving some chips into his mouth.

"If you can't say anything nice, plug it up." he spat.

If Jacques had heard him, he didn't let on, smiling at their antics as he took a swig of his beer.

* * *

"...And so long story short, I had to eat the whole thing!" Amelia finished, throwing her arm up theatrically "Can you believe that! It was such a pain!"

"That sounds awful." Maddie agreed with a chuckle "All that coconut..."

"Ugh, to this day I can't look at one!"

"My brother Alfred did something very similar." Matthew chipped in "Only with him it was buttermilk icing – he still throws up whenever he sees it now."

"Ooh, you have a brother?" Amelia flirted "Is he cute like you?"

"We're twins." Matty confirmed.

"Identical?!"

"Fraternal, but we're very similar looking. I guess I look more like my older brother Francis than Al."

"House full of brothers?" Amelia groaned "Ugh, tell me about it! I came to Canada to get away from mine, but one went and followed me anyway – he doesn't even like Canada!"

She suddenly turned to Maddie, making her jump. Amelia moved and spoke very quickly, so the laid back pair were having trouble keeping up with her.

"You have any siblings?" she asked.

"Only child." Maddie confirmed, shaking her head.

The American quickly grabbed her hands, staring at her earnestly.

"Be my sister!" she demanded.

"Pardon?"

Matthews phone started ringing. He fished it out with some confusion, frowning when he saw the name.

"God dammit, Al." he swore as he stood to take it outside "He's gonna go bankrupt is he keeps calling my mobile all the time."

Amelia watched him leave, not so subtly checking out his goods. She seemed to come to herself and looked back at Maddie, blushing awkwardly.

"So, how long have you guys been together?" she asked.

"Oh, we aren't... 'together.'" Maddie admitted.

"So he's single?"

Maddie wasn't quite sure what kind of face she pulled when Amelia said that, but the Texan immediately jumped from from her seat to sit right beside her and take her hands.

"Hey, I'm sorry!" she said "You really like him, right?"

Maddie felt her face grow hot, especially as Amelia squeezed her hands reassuringly. After stuttering a moment, she nodded. Amelia groaned, but nodded.

"Okay, I'll back off." she promised.

"Eh?" Maddie replied, surprised that such a confident girl was giving up "Just like that? Don't you like him?"

"I think he's cute as anything." she admitted "But there are cute guys everywhere! The truth is..."

Amelia got a little awkward, scratching the back of her head.

"I have trouble making friends with girls." she said "I had tons of guy friends back in Texas, but all the girls hated me. I don't really know why... I was determined that things were going to be different here! You're in all my classes, so I know we have things in common! Friends don't go after the guys their friends like, so..."

Maddie's heart was touched – she also had trouble making friends, especially since she had spent so much time at home the past few years. Thanks to the cancer she had spent a lot of her secondary school education being home schooled, and was no longer entirely sure how to deal with people her own age in real life...

"I'd like to be friends." she admitted.

Amelia grinned ear-to-ear, squealing happily and kicking her legs.

"Alright!" she declared "Our first quest as BFF's is to find me a cute boy to stalk!"

"Stalk?" Matthew picked up on as he returned "What did I miss?"

"Are there any cute boys in environmental studies, Matty?" Amelia asked him.

"Mostly women." he admitted as he sat down "Just me and this other boy who always wears-"

"Stupid red sunglasses!" she interrupted "My effing brother! Typical! Boo! Hey, we should go out somewhere! Is there anywhere around here?"

"I wouldn't know." Maddie admitted "It's not really my thing."

"Eh, you're a wallflower?! No way!"

"Sorry..."

"I guess we'll find out together then!" Amelia decided "BFF's discovering the world! What do you think, Matty?"

"I think American girls are very energetic."

* * *

"Is your camera still not working?"

"Yeah, I don't know why."

"Did you take the camera down the IT shop?"

"Haven't really had time."

"If you damaged it in the move, I'm going to kill you."

Alfred was lying, of course – he just hadn't plugged the camera in. He didn't want Matthew to see how much weight he'd gained. He sat at his desk, muscles still aching from the earlier work out, watching Matty brush his hair through the webcam. He really, really missed him.

"Your computer's fine." he promised his brother "I didn't break anything."

"Hey, what time is it there?" Matthew asked "You sound really tired."

"I went to the gym today."

"Romano picking up girls?" he knew.

"Haha, yeah. I got talked into going regularly, though."

"Trying to get fit before you join the police?"

"Yeah. I didn't realise how unfit I was."

Matthew chuckled, making Al smile.

"Don't overdo it." he urged "You want a free workout, go play football in the park with Michelle."

"Nah, she'd probably win." Alfred admitted "That's not really good for my confidence right now."

"Oh?" Matthew pulled a concerned face "You having a hard time?"

"I miss you." he replied honestly "And people yell at me when I call you."

"That's because you call his phone three times a day, idiot!" Romano yelled through the wall, startling both twins "I suppose you think you're made of money, eh?!"

"Romano!" Matthew laughed "I can hear you across the ocean! How are you doing that?"

"The sheer power of my annoyance!" was the reply, followed by him banging on the way a few times "Turn that down, I'm trying to sleep!"

Alfred plugged in his headphones, Matthews laughing bursting into life in his ears.

"Some things never change." he finished "How are you finding living with him?"

"He's high maintenance." Al admitted.

"This is news to you?"

"Haha, I guess not."

"Hm, maybe you should go to bed." Matty suggested "You sound really out of it."

"On one condition."

"What's that?"

"Read me a story."

"Idiot."

* * *

2pCanada and 2pAmerica don't seem to have canon names either - at least none that I could find - but Amelia seemed to be the most popular for fem!America. Romano's kind of being a dick in this chapter, but his heart's in the right place... I think... Please look forward to more soon!


	3. Chapter 3 An Unwanted Relationship

Ugh, every chapter is coming up as a wall of text when I upload it - why? It's very annoying. On the plus side, I'm getting reviews from people who followed Unwanted until the end, which makes me very happy! I hope readers old and new enjoy this new tale. In this chapter, things get interesting...

* * *

**An Unwanted Relationship**

With the first university term in full swing, winter was starting to nip at the heels of the new students, shortening the days and casting a bitter kind of cold over shadows, along straight roads and in places the sun couldn't touch. The foreign students learnt quickly that a bright, sunny sky in Britain was no guarantee of warm weather – if anything, the deceptive winter sun was far colder than the unrelenting grey clouds. Romano snickered, warm under his scarf and hat with his hands in his pockets, every time he passed a hopeful first year in shorts or a t-shirt. The grin was wiped from his face by Jacques, who walked around in shorts and a t-shirt regardless, completely nonplussed by the cold.

"What did you expect? I'm Canadian." he explained.

"You're nuts is what you are." Romano spat at him, shivering in the smoking shelter "Get a haircut."

Being supportive in his own way, Romano had pinned the jeans that no longer fit Alfred to the front door, so the poor boy had to look at them whenever he sat in the living room, used the kitchenette or wanted to go out. He had also banished the cupboards of all fizzy drink, sweets and processed foods. There was still plenty of food in their little flat – Romano all but had a panic attack at the thought of an empty fridge – but it all needed to be cooked from scratch, something he knew Alfred was too lazy to do. To his credit, Romano's cooking was delicious and he always made dessert, but his strict portion control had caused more than one argument with big eater Alfred. The deliciousness of his cooking of course attracted Jacques, who was drawn to their flat like a magnet every time Romano put the stove on. Romano was just finishing dinner while Jacques took the tape measure to Alfred's tubby belly.

"You can't trust scales." he insisted "Bodyweight fluctuates naturally depending on the time of day, when you ate, how hydrated you are and what part of your hormone cycle you're in."

"Men don't have hormone cycles." Romano pointed out.

"Actually they do." Alfred corrected "It's usually just over a month."

Romano pulled a horrified face, god only knows what images going through his mind. Jacques made a satisfied noise as he released the tape.

"You lost an inch and a half!" he told him "Good job!"

"Now just work on the other two foot of fat and we're getting somewhere." Romano quipped.

"You're not helping." Jacques chastised as Al flipped Romano the bird.

"Helping?" he cried indignantly "You think I'm cooking for my own sake?! I'm not the one on a diet, but I've never eaten healthier in my life! Feli's hamster eats more red meat! I haven't had a pizza in a month!"

Romano continued to rant as he plated up. After so many years, Alfred had learned to tune much of what he said out, but it was a skill Jacques was still learning: he never seemed sure whether to actually pay attention to him, looking to Al for confirmation every time he started ranting. The three of them sat down to dinner, Alfred and Jacques on the sofa and Romano on the coffee table.

"...So now Feliciano is hitting puberty he keeps asking me about deodorant and shaving and crap," Romano continued to espouse "But he's still got a voice like a choir boy on helium."

"Yours isn't much better." Al teased "Plus you're shrill, like a hyperventilating donkey."

Jacques practically spat out his whole mouthful of food as he started to laugh, covering it with his hand and tactfully putting his plate down as his shoulders heaved. Romano just smirked and shook his head.

* * *

"Go away, weirdo."

"You haven't called mum in ages! She's worried about you!"

"I called her three days ago."

Amelia gave her brother a withering look. Maddie and Matty weren't sure if they should interrupt or go back to their studying, awkwardly looking between the bickering siblings and their textbooks. While Matthew knew Kevin from their environmental studies classes, Madeline only knew him as that person Amelia was always walking in the opposite direction of. The two looked nothing alike – Kevin's hair was dark, his skin olive, while Amelia was fair and blonde. Not all siblings look alike, but still...

"Amy-" he started.

"Piss off." she interrupted, turning back to her textbook "I'm with my friends."

Kevin looked up at them, as if noticing them for the first time. Maddie and Matty, being the dorks they were, both gave him a little wave. Kevin immediately rounded the table, grabbed a chair from the neighbouring table and pulled it up beside Matthew, sitting like an iron weight upon it.

"Matthew's my friend too." he insisted "We're in the same class."

"God, you're annoying." Amelia hissed.

"Did you get the notes about the salamanders?" Kevin asked Matthew, ignoring his sister "I kinda spaced out."

"Don't involve him in your mind games!"

"Who's playing mind games?! I need notes!"

Matthew leaned over to Maddie, who leant into him conspiratorially.

"How long do you think before they get us kicked out the library?" he whispered.

Not long. The siblings continued to bicker about whose fault it was as they stormed down the road, the other two loitering behind.

"Are you and Alfred like that?" Maddie chuckled.

"Definitely not." Matthew laughed.

A frigid wind blew down the lane, sending a shiver right down Maddies spine. She had never had short hair before, and her unprotected neck was already suffering. She startled a little and Matthew wrapped his scarf around her.

"Hey, you gotta be careful." he reminded her quietly "Your immune system's still recovering."

Madeline felt her face grow hot, especially with Matthews so close. She twisted her fingers in her palm as he finished tying the scarf.

"You're right." she admitted "I never wore a scarf before because I had long hair. I'm not sure I even own one."

"We have some time Friday, why don't we go shopping?" he suggested "See if we can find some paws to match the scalped teddy hat."

She laughed at the image. When the two turned back to the street, they found Amelia and Kevin staring at him.

"Why aren't we like that?" Kevin whined.

"Because you're annoying." Amelia said bluntly.

"Maybe if you were as cute as her, I wouldn't be so annoying."

"I guarantee that isn't true."

* * *

Alfred was such a little sweetie, he went to bed at 10pm every night. Jacques often stayed much later to drink and talk with Romano, and would sometimes sleep on their little sofa if things got late. The Canadian was always tempted to sneak into his bedroom, just to get a look at his sleeping face... well, maybe a little more than that. While Jacques wasn't really into larger boys, Alfred was such a puppy dog that he couldn't help but want to put him on a lead. He enjoyed the time they got to spend alone at the gym: Alfred was very chatty when Romano wasn't there to bicker with him, and the fact that he laughed at pretty much anything made Jacques feel spectacularly witty. He never seemed to mind when Jacques subtly tousled his hair or ran a finger down his hand – he probably wasn't very good at picking up flirting. Although, if the highly unsubtle Romano was the only kind of flirting he had seen, it was no surprise. Jacques wondered how touchy he could get before Alfred got flustered.

Romano paused the movie playing on the computer, jumping up.

"Gotta take a leak." he announced "Don't you dare watch the next part without me!"

"No sir."

He ran off, surprisingly quietly, locking the bathroom door silently. Was he afraid of waking up Alfred? Jacques supposed they were pretty good friends. He busied himself reading the asinine comments below the video when the inbox binged – who could be sending email this time of night? This was Alfred's computer... Thinking he could spare the cutie the inconvenience of a piece of junk-mail, Jacques switched tabs, but it wasn't junk-mail that greeted him.

An email from Matty, entitled 'Check this out!', with an attachment. Matty? Wasn't that Alfreds ex? Whenever the subject came up, Alfred went oddly quiet and Romano quickly started to talk about something else. Well, there was only one thing to do – he deleted the email, then emptied the trash. It was clear Alfred wasn't over their breakup – he had referred to it before as a 'not really' breakup, which were the worse kinds – if 'Matty' stopped communicating with him, Alfred would probably be able to get over it quicker. Jacques switched the tab back as the bathroom door clicked open, sitting back against the sofa.

* * *

"True or false," Madeline quizzed, reference book open in her lap "If you pick up a baby bird that falls out of its nest, its mother will reject it and it'll die."

"False." Matthew answered, sat on the coffee table as he massaged her feet "The parents don't care. You should put it back in it's nest."

"That is..." Maddie paused as she flipped to the answers "True! I didn't know that. Alright, next question... lessee..How many breeding pairs of Peregrine Falcons are there in the British Isles?"

"Maddie," Marie-Elise called, poking her head around the door of the living room "When are you meeting your friends?"

"About 7."

"Do you want a lift?"

"Is that okay?"

"Of course, sweetie. Let me know when you're ready."

She disappeared again. Matthew stopped massaging Maddies foot, slapping her leg playfully.

"Ready to try again?"

"I dunno," she joked "I'm scared they might eat me for real this time!"

She put the book aside, fetching the high heel shoes that had bested her once today already. She fixed the straps and held her hand out to Matthew, who helped her stand. She tottered unsurely, hanging onto his arm.

"Okay, I'm gonna walk." she announced.

"Okay."

"I'm gonna do it."

"I believe you."

"I'm walking now."

"Go for it."

Maddie lifted her foot, immediately losing her balance, Mattys sturdy frame the only thing stopping her from falling on her face.

"Ah, I changed my mind!" she squealed "I'll just stand in one place all night, like against a wall or something."

"Just wear your flat shoes!" Matthew laughed.

"I can't wear trainers with this skirt!" she insisted.

"Why not?"

"Because I can't! Stupid boy!"

"I can't hold you up all night!"

"Ah! No, don't move!"

"Hang on, I have an idea!"

"Wha-WHOA!"

Maddie squealed as Matthew picked her up, holding her bridal style. She wrapped her arms around his neck, but she was so light that he held her securely enough on his own.

"Matthew Bonnefoy, you put me down!" she laughed.

"This works for both of us!" he joked "You get to wear your pretty shoes and I don't have to stand in one place all night!"

"You're an idiot!"

A flash caught their attention. Alice smirked at them, inspecting the photo she took on her cameras screen.

"Mummy!" Maddie shrieked "No fair!"

"If you don't want me to take pictures, stop doing picture worthy things." she retorted.

"Matty, put me down before she takes more!"

Matthew just smiled, not moving. Alice shook her head, walking over and removing the shoes from Maddies feet.

"These are too tall." she pointed out "Even your father would think twice. I think I have some kitten heels that would go with this – why don't you go take a look?"

"Kitten... heels?" Matty asked "First scalped teddy hats, now you're making shoes out of poor kitties?!"

"Silly!" Maddie chuckled "C'mon brawny man, put me down now."

This time he obliged, putting her carefully back on her feet. She jumped away before he could pick her up again.

"I'll be right back." she promised.

"I-" Matthew was silenced by the back of Alice's fist tapping lightly but firmly on his chest.

"I want to take more pictures before you go." she told her daughter "First party after remission and all that. Ask Daddy to do your make-up for you."

"Right, right."

She closed the door behind her. Alice waited a moment to make sure she wasn't coming back before rounding on Matthew, face serious.

"Sit."

He sat. Alice had the same tone Arthur did whenever he got into trouble... had he done something? He was on his best behaviour, he couldn't think of anything. Alice stared him down – she was quite little, so even sitting he wasn't far below her line of vision – but her green eyes were suitably intimidating for a woman of her age.

"I was a little cynical," she told him, arms crossing over her chest "About having a young man come and live with us. I know what young men are like, after all – the last thing my daughter needs after all she's been through the past few years is some selfish boy messing with her feelings."

Matthew just nodded, trusting his gut feeling that this was not the point to open his mouth. He was correct, as Alice sighed, shrugging her stiff shoulders.

"But I trust Madeline." she went on "And I trust her judgement – as young men go, you seem to be one of the good ones. You're polite, you're clean, you're respectful... in short, you're a problem."

Alice looked him right in the eye, and he felt like he was being studied.

"Madeline likes you." she told him "And not just as a friend. You may think I'm out of order for telling you, but the days of juvenile guessing games are over, and I won't allow you to break my daughters heart just by being oblivious. Did you know she liked you that way?"

Matthew felt his ears start to burn, the back of his neck prickling. He had no idea... Maddie was his best friend... Not sure what the right thing to say was, he just shook his head.

"Thought not." Alice sighed "You're still a boy after all. Please don't misunderstand me: I'm not against you and Madeline dating, but looking at this from the point of view of me and her father: she has strong feelings for you, and you came all this way to be close to her."

Alice went quiet a moment, inspecting Matthews face. Her body language seemed to soften.

"I don't dislike you." she admitted "But if you can't love my daughter, you need to tell her sooner rather than later. Don't be the best man in her life if you can't stay with it."

The living room door clattered open, Maddie and Marie-Elise tumbling.

"Look at this adorable girl!" the proud father exclaimed, hands on her shoulders "How cute is she now!"

"Hey, those are mine." Alice realised with a chuckle, referring to the decorative clips in Maddies hair "You better bring those back in one piece."

"I will." Maddie swore.

The young lady looked at Matthew, self consciously trying to tuck her short locks behind her ears, and for the first time he noticed her blush as she smiled at him.

"You okay?" she asked "You have a funny look on your face."

"I'm giving him the lecture." Alice admitted "Cover your drinks, stay in well lit areas, don't go the bathroom alone, all that jazz."

"Do boys really need the lecture?" Maddie wondered.

"They do." Marie-Elise said certainly "Matthew's your chaperone tonight, he needs to see thing the way you do."

"He's not my 'chaperone', Daddy."

* * *

As promised, Alice took a ton of pictures before Marie-Elise drove the two of them to the student bar (Matthew couldn't bring himself to call it a 'pub', no matter what it claimed. Explaining why to his American and Canadian friends proved fruitless). He thought about what Alice had told him – to say his mind 'whirred' would be an overreaction, but he did think. The idea of Madeline liking him romantically made him happy.

The two of them had been friends – albeit online – for nearly seven years, since they had met as pre-teens on Neopets. They spoke about everything – her father deciding to become a woman, her parents near divorce as a result, her cancer... but that of course included things about him, including his embarrassing incestuous crush on Arthur... If she, knowing that kind of thing about him, could still like him as a man... well, if that didn't make her a keeper, what did? The fact that she was cute as a button didn't hurt either.

By the time they reached the bar, Matthew had made up his mind: if Maddie wanted him to be her boyfriend, he wasn't going to say no.

* * *

"Why are you here?" Amelia complained, arms crossed over her chest as she waited by the bar.

"Matty and Maddie are my friends too." Kevin replied, trying to find his fake ID in his wallet.

Ugh, why did Kevin have to be in the same class as Matthew? Why did he even have to go to the same university as her?! The point of university was to get away from your family! She perked up considerably as the pair came in the swinging door, waving them over.

"Maddie, Matty!" she called.

Those two were such slowpokes, Amelia ran to the door to greet them.

"Oh my god, Maddie, you look so cute!" she enthused "I've never seen you in make-up! OH MY GOD is that your mum?! She's gorgeous!"

The older woman waiting in the car seemed to have heard her, as she smiled and waved before driving off.

"Man, if I look like that when I'm 50 I'm going to be wearing miniskirt ALL THE TIME."

"She's 42." Maddie corrected quietly.

"But that doesn't change the fact that you're adorable today!"

Amelia loved seeing Maddie blush, which she did whenever she was complimented, crinkling up her nose just a little every time – her new BFF was just like a little bunny, and she loved it! She pounced on her, linking their arms.

"Come with me, I gotta powder my nose." she all but ordered "Matty, order me a coke, okay? What do you want, Maddie?"

"Um, coke is good-"

"You heard the lady, let's mush!"

Amelia pulled Maddie to the bathroom, leaving Matthew as speechless as ever. Instead of going into one of the stalls, she stopped in front of one of the sinks, immediately reaching into her purse.

"Okay, Mads, I need a woman's opinion!"

"Um, okay..." she replied timidly.

Ooh, stop being so cute or I may just eat you! She pulled out the two shades of lipstick, holding them up for Maddie to inspect.

"I need a colour to attract boys!" she admitted "So am I going for 'Bubblegum Pink' or 'Seductress Red'?"

The Canadian looked honestly flustered, looking quickly between the two.

"I-I think both are good!" she stammered "Which do you prefer?"

"Well, what kind are you wearing? It really suits you, and we have the same colouring."

"I think it's a gloss." Maddie admitted "It's not even mine..."

"Your mum did your make-up?" Amelia realised, pouting a little "No wonder it looks so good... Okay, Seductress Red it is! Even if I don't pull any boys, I'll still look amazing!"

Amelia turned to the mirror to apply the lipstick, leaning over the sink to get a better look. Beside her, Maddie tugged unhappily on her short, curly locks.

"Sorry I couldn't be more help." she said "I'm not really good at stuff like that..."

"Me neither." Amelia admitted "I've got like half a million brothers and my dad owns a ranch – I can hog-tie a sow in eight seconds and fix my own car, but ask me about curlers or make-up and I'm stumped!"

She laughed self-consciously. Maddie was her friend, so...

"I guess that's why it feels like I'm overcompensating." she admitted, feeling her ears go hot at the confession "Always talking about boys and stuff. But I never had a girl I could talk to about this kind of thing before! I mean, it feels like... like I never got to be a girl, I guess... now I'm starting life my own, I get to do all these kinds of things!"

Amelia smiled at her, knowing she was blushing ear to ear.

"Know what I mean?" she finished.

Maddie looked at her thoughtfully. She tugged on her hair again as she looked away to her own reflection.

"I do know what you mean." she confessed "I was always the bookworm, the girl with the big glasses in the corner. I never felt like I was pretty, even before..."

Maddie pulled a sad face. Concerned, Amelia took her hand.

"Before?"

Her friend smiled weakly, still tugging her hair.

"I was diagnosed with cancer when I was 13." she revealed "I had to take a lot of time off school. I got really thin and all my hair fell out..."

"Maddie..."

"I'm in remission now!" she said quickly "I mean, I need a blood test every few months, but the doctors are really optimistic!"

Amelia couldn't help herself – she threw her arms around Maddie. She felt so thin and fragile in her arms... To think how close she had come to never knowing her! She she released her, she turned them both tot he mirror.

"You know what?" she said "That was the past! Right now, we are smokin' hot!"

She winked and flashed a thumbs up the mirror. Maddie chuckled, smiling that little smile of hers.

* * *

"So, Maddie's cute as fuck." Kevin pointed out bluntly "Is she single?"

"No." Matthew answered.

"So, you and her?"

"Yup."

"Damn." Kevin sighed, swirling his coke "Can't catch a break today. First they confiscate my ID, now this."

"Why did you need a fake ID anyway?" Matty asked "The drinking age here is 18, isn't it?"

"I'm 17." Kevin admitted "I graduated a year early. I wanted to go to college in California, but Dad made me come here to keep an eye on Amelia. Only girl, blah blah blah."

"You're not missing anything." Matthew promised "Alcohol's not that great."

"But you're supposed to drink on a night out!"

"Only stupid kids do stuff like that!" Amelia announced as the girls returned, immediately snatching up one of the cokes.

"Don't get high and mighty, you're only a year older!"

"But I am older!"

Maddie sat down beside Matthew, and he instinctively put his arm around her shoulders. He felt a happy warmth in his belly when she leaned into him. Amelia ran to the bar to get more drinks before joining them.

"I ordered us fries!" she informed the group as she sat down "Who wants to do shots later?"

"I don't think so." Maddie said immediately.

"Boo! Matty?"

"Not tonight."

"Double boo! What kind of students don't get shit faced at every opportunity?"

"Didn't I just say that?" Kevin piped up.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you over the fact that you're under-age."

The siblings threw sass in each others direction as Amelia sat in the booth with them.

"I hope your brother is cuter than this weirdo." she said to Matthew.

"I don't know if I'd call Alfred 'cute'." he admitted.

"I've only spoken to him once or twice." Maddie added "He's very... he's a lot like you!"

"He is!" Matthew realised suddenly "I knew you reminded me of someone!"

"I've been brotherzoned?!" Amelia shrieked indignantly "Where are my fries?!"

"I'm curious." Kevin ignored her "How did you two meet? How long have you been together?"

"We met online when we were 11." Maddie told him.

"But we've only been together a little while." Matty finished.

She looked up at him, clearly not having expected that answer. Amelia 'ooh'ed in an impressed fashion.

"You got a boyfriend before me!" she pretended to pout "Meanie. We didn't even get our 'Velma and Louise' moment."

"I never saw that movie." Maddie replied.

* * *

Despite her best efforts, Maddie tired quickly, and was ready to go home by 9.30. While the cancer was gone, she had been so ill for so long that it would take time for her to recover fully. Amelia, having been informed of the situation in the bathroom earlier, didn't argue, even telling Kevin to shut up when he started whining about Matthew leaving as well.

"Don't overexert yourself." she encouraged, stood outside the building before the siblings left "This is a friendship, not a footrace: we can go at your pace."

"Thanks." Maddie replied, although she wasn't entirely sure what that meant "See you Monday."

She waved as they left, almost immediately starting to bicker as they walked down the street. In the bar behind them, things were just starting to get busy, but Maddie felt like she was ready for bed. She leant against Matthew, who put his arm around her again, as they waited for their lift.

"I want to do shots." she confessed, closing her eyes "At least once. And wear those high heels. And stay up all night long."

"Alright, we'll put it on the 'to do' list." he agreed "After Disneyland and before going to England to meet my family."

"Mm, sounds good." she concurred sleepily "Where's our wedding on that list?"

"After 'meet the family', before 'have babies.'"

"Matthew?"

"Hm?"

"When did we start dating?"

They looked at each other, both hearts fluttering. Matthew was the first to turn away, ears burning.

"Well... your mother made it pretty clear that you'd like that." he confessed "And I thought... well, that I'd like that too..."

"But what about Arthur?"

"What about him?" Matthew repeated "Yes, I have... feelings... for him, but nothing's ever going to come of that. I'm not so crazy to give up something that could be great for something that's doomed to failure before it starts."

"Hmm..."

Maddie reached up, taking the arm that was around her shoulders and playing with his fingers.

"You think we could be 'great'?" she asked.

He gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze.

"I think we could be the best."

"You think you could love me more than anyone else in the whole world? Even more than Alfred?"

"I left Alfred on the other side of the Atlantic to be with you." he reminded her.

"And if I decide to become a man one day?"

"Then I guess I'll have no choice but to be gay."

She squeezed his hand tightly.

"I love you." she said quietly.

"I love you too." he said louder.

He leaned down and kissed her on top of the head. She was startled at first, then her body language softened as she leant back into him. Their moment was bought to an end by the blare of a car horn. Marie-Elise shot Matthew a look of disdain that Arthur would be proud of as he pulled up, rolled down the window, and threw something at Matthews head. It bounced off and landed in his hood, so Maddie fished it out for him. To the embarrassment of them both, it was a condom.

* * *

"Three inches!"

"Piss off!"

"Don't do it!"

"I'll do what I want!"

"You worked so hard!"

Romano kicked the coffee table away to stop it from getting broken as he and Alfred wrestled, Romano desperately trying to get the spoon and tub of ice cream from Alfred's hands.

"You knew this would happen eventually!" Romano pointed out.

"But I wasn't ready for it to happen yet!" Alfred cried.

"I will not let you eat your feelings!"

"What else am I supposed to do?!"

Quick as a whip, Romano bit Alfred hard on the hand, forcing him to let go of the spoon. While he was still shocked, he managed to knock the tub from his other hand, the contents falling, half melted from their struggle, onto the ground. Romano pushed him hard, forcing him to the floor in front of the sofa, sitting on him in an attempt to stop him running away.

"Talk to me!" he demanded "Use your words!"

"I can't!" Alfred yelled at him "I-I'll cry!"

"So cry! I don't care! You think I never seen you cry?!"

Alfred was all but hyperventilating, tears streaming down his face, nose and ears completely red. He shook his head, opening and closing his mouth a few times. Romano stayed patient, putting his hands supportively in his shoulders.

"H-hurts." he stammered pathetically "It hurts... I love him so much... I knew it was one sided, but I still..."

Not able to look at him any more, Alfred buried his face in Romanos chest, holding him tighter than than he had ever held another person. Romano responded, putting his arms around his ample shoulders and burying a hand in his golden hair.

"I wasn't ready." he whimpered "I wasn't ready... he's not mine any more..."

"Alfred," Romano responded softly "Matthew will always be your brother. No-one can ever take that from you."

"I knew we'd never be together, but I wasn't ready to give him to someone else."

Romano felt his shirt starting to get wet, but he didn't mind. He stroked the back of his head soothingly as Alfred blubbered and choked.

"It hurts... it hurts..."

"It'll be okay." Romano promised "It'll be okay."

"How do I make this pain stop?"

Romano released his head, sitting back a little. He risked getting punched, but... he took the opportunity to kiss him. His face was soft where he had gained all that weight. He was surprisingly submissive, letting himself be kissed as they hot tears continued to roll down his cheeks. Romano was surprised when he wasn't shoved away, but held tighter, as if Alfred was afraid he would disappear in his arms. It took little persuasion for Alfred to open his mouth a little, letting Romanos eager tongue inside.

Not giving him pause for thought, Romano capitalised.

* * *

People who have never been to Britain - the thing about our winters at the start of the chapter is true. When I was a student, I had a friend who came here from Africa to study: one Novembers morn she saw the sun shining through her window and optimistically put on shorts and a t-shirt. She didn't make it to the university building before going back the 50 yards to the halls to change...

But anyway, we finally got to a longer chapter! The plot is starting to thicken! I'm a little worried that Maddie is coming across as kind of boring, though - is it just me? As for Jacques... it's only a matter of time... Don't think things are going to be simple for Maddy and Mattie either...

As always, I love reading all your reviews!


	4. Chapter 4 Unwanted Attention

A short story completely unrelated to anything else I've written: So a couple of times in the past few months, people have told me that, when they first met me, they found me intimidating. This is funny because I'm probably the softest bugger you're every likely to meet. I told my best friends this, and her first response was 'yes, you are.' She said that, to people who didn't know me, I was very aloof and difficult to talk to, and when talking to strangers I come across as blunt and scary.

So apparently I'm Sweden. Enjoy this chapter.

* * *

**Unwanted Attention **

The sun had yet to rise when Romano woke up, sleep disturbed by the sound of scrubbing and sobbing. His entire body was aching, but the crying was concerning him, so he got up, gasping from the cold before he wrapped his duvet around himself and went into the living room. Alfred was on his hands and knees, scrubbing the carpet where the spilled ice-cream had long since congealed.

"Al?" he called softly "What are you doing? That can wait."

Without looking at him, Alfred sat up, wiping his tears away with the back of his hand and gasping a few times to stop them flowing.

"If I leave it, the carpet will get sticky." he said quietly "We'll lose our security deposit."

"Even so..."

Fishing his arm out from under his warm duvet, Romano put his hand on Alfred's shoulder. He was shocked when Alfred flinched away from him, shaking like he was going to start crying again.

"I'm sorry." the blond all but whispered "I just keep fucking up. I couldn't help Arthur, I drove Matty away, and now this..."

He finally turned to look at Romano, blue eyes completely bloodshot, nose red raw.

"I'm sorry." he said again "This was the worst mistake of my life. Please don't stop being my friend..."

With a loud sob, he started to cry again, shoulders slumping. This had been a mistake in his eyes? That wasn't what Romano wanted to hear at all. Alfred grabbed the duvet, burying his face in it.

"God, I'm such a fuck up!"

Romano knelt down, putting his arms around Alfred's shoulders. Al held him tightly, like he was afraid he would run away, and continued to cry on his shoulder, sobbing and spluttering uncontrollably.

Well... fuck. Romano had clearly made the wrong move – this wasn't his intended outcome, not by a long short.

"Hey, it's okay." he soothed, rubbing his back "It's takes two to tango, you know?"

"I'm sorry..." Al just repeated "I'm sorry..."

"Yeah," Romano sighed "Me too."

* * *

"So..."

"Apparently Matthew and Madeline starting dating."

"I see."

Alfred ignored his older brothers, who stood at the doorway of his home bedroom staring at his back. He didn't want to talk to them. He didn't want to talk to anyone. He wanted to curl up into a ball and die.

"Is that really enough to get this upset about?" Arthur wondered.

"He's just being melodramatic." Francis figured "He'll cheer up when he's had something to eat."

"Looks to me like he's been 'cheering up' a lot lately."

"Says the man whose fiancé has put on a stone and a half in the past six months."

"It's puppy fat."

"He's 30."

"It ever occur to you that maybe I just like him fat?"

"I try not to think about your sex life."

"Piss off!" Alfred finally yelled.

He curled up into a ball on his bed, burying his head under his pillow. He came home to get away from his shame for a while, he didn't need a commentary from the peanut gallery. Since he had his back to them, Alfred didn't notice his older brothers 'paper, scissors, rock', Francis winning, smirking and walking away with a wave. Arthur flipped the 'v' sigh at his back before walking into Alfred's room, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. He sat down on the edge of Alfred's bed, rubbing his back.

"Hey, kid." he greeted "You're not really that upset about Matty getting a girlfriend, are you?"

Alfred didn't want to talk about it. Only Romano knew about his feelings for Matthew, and look how that had turned out. He wanted to be comforted, but he didn't want to admit the truth. Reluctantly, he took the pillow off his head, hugging it.

"Kinda." he admitted "We've always been together, and now we're not... I hardly hear from him at all any more, and when I do he tells me something like this. It makes me feel like he means more to me than I do to him."

"Hm." Arthur hummed supportively, still rubbing his back "I understand. Nothing's changed for you – you're still in the same town with the same people, so it's weird for you not having your brother around. Matthew's on the other side of the planet, meeting new people, doing new things, so time's just flying for him. I'm sure he doesn't mean to ignore you."

Alfred sat up, whole body feeling heavy. Arthur put his arms around him as he put his head on his big brothers shoulder.

"I feel like I'm missing a part of me." he confessed "And I went and did something stupid."

"Did you eat it?" Arthur joked.

"Don't you start."

"I'm sorry. What did you do?"

Alfred was reluctant. Would Arthur judge him? He wasn't really like that, but brothers do tease...

"I slept with Romano." he admitted, not able to look at Arthur a moment.

"And you didn't mean to?" Arthur asked.

"I was upset." Alfred went on "He was there. One thing let to another. It was a mistake."

"You got carried away." the older brother confirmed "And now you're afraid you're going to ruin your relationship with him."

"Yeah..."

Alfred sighed deeply. At least Arthur wasn't teasing him – being gay, he wasn't judging him for sleeping with another man, either. He nestled into his older brothers shoulder like an upset child.

"Do you... think it counts?" he asked "If it was a mistake?"

"What do you mean?"

Alfred felt his face grow hot.

"Mu... s... first time..." he mumbled.

"Ah. Sorry, but it kinda does. Well, it depends on how far you went."

"Walking is kind of hard today."

"It counts."

"What should I do?"

Arthur 'hmm'd again, patting Alfred's back as he thought.

"I know you're upset." he started "But you're not children any more. Your relationship with Matthew will be fine: even when he gets married and starts having children, you'll still be brothers. It's your relationship with Romano I'd be worried about."

Alfred took his head off Arthur's shoulder, not quite looking him in the eye.

"You think he won't accept my apology?" he asked.

"I think you need to listen to what he's saying." Arthur told him "For someone like Romano to have sex with another man... I think he loves you a lot, and maybe he didn't know any other way to show it. If you keep calling what happened a mistake, you'll probably hurt his feelings."

Oh... Alfred hadn't thought of that. He hadn't really thought about Romano's feelings at all... Great, he was a terrible friend as well as a terrible brother. He put his head back on his big brothers shoulder.

"Please don't tell Francis." he begged.

"I won't." he promised "Because you just know he'll tell Antonio, and we'll be finding bits of your organs around town for months."

Ah... he hadn't thought of that either...

* * *

Matthews ears were stinging. His older brothers had called to congratulate him on his new (and first) relationship, but it had quickly descended into a lecture about contacting Alfred more often. Apparently he hadn't taken Matthews happy news too well... Matthew couldn't admit to them that he knew about Alfred's feelings for him – it was a big secret, afteral – so just promised to call him more often.

"I already email him every day." Matthew pointed out "What more does he want?"

"He just misses you." Madeline figured, sat securely on his lap with his arms around her "I understand how he feels."

"You can't miss him if you're never apart." Marie-Elise muttered, arms crossed over her chest.

Alice just shook her head at her. It was starting to get late this Saturday night, but none of them had anywhere else to be. Madeline was already half asleep, eyes closed as she listened to the movie playing in the dark living room. She complained about being chilly, resulting in Matthew holding her a little tighter. Sat on opposite arm chairs, Marie-Elise focused on the movie to ignore the boy with his arms around her daughter while Alice embroidered under the light of the floor lamp.

"You know," Maddie thought, voice full and sleepy "Your brother Arthur kind of reminds me of mummy."

"They are kind of similar." Matty agreed.

"I have nicer eyebrows." Alice pointed out casually "But your brother had really nice skin."

"Annoying, isn't it?" Matty laughed.

"Please tell me he wasn't the hairdresser." Marie-Elise begged.

"He's not."

"Thank goodness."

Feeling Maddie going limp in his arms, Matty shook her gently.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked quietly "You want to go to bed?"

"Mmm." she agreed, waking slightly "'Kay."

Bidding goodnight to her parents, he gently herded Maddie out of the lounge and up the stairs to her bedroom, holding her by the shoulders. She continued to yawn and rub her eyes as he sat her down on her bed and removed her slippers.

"I'm sorry." she said suddenly.

"Oh? For what?" he asked.

"I can't do interesting things." she elaborated "Amelia and Kevin are always doing interesting things at night, but I still get tired so fast. I'm sorry about that. You can go out without me, you know?"

"Don't be silly." Matthew assured "It won't be fun without you. I'd rather be at home with you than drinking with them."

"It's not even 10 on Saturday and I'm going to bed." she pointed out "I feel like I'm robbing you of your youth."

"My youth can wait." he went on, leaning up to kiss her on the forehead "When you're stronger, we'll do all those things together."

Maddie pulled a face, blushing deeply.

"About that... there's something else that needs to wait... I mean..."

She looked up at him, obvious exhaustion disappearing for a moment as she looked stern and embarrassed at the same time.

"It's... sex." she went on "It's not that I don't want to... You are my first boyfriend, and the doctor says..."

He kissed her on the forehead again, silencing her, before kneeling on the floor before her bed.

"I've never had sex either." he admitted "And I'm not in any rush: I can wait until you're ready."

"Really?" she confirmed, obviously feeling guilty.

"Of course." he assured "Sex isn't that important."

She smiled at him, exhaustion returning to her face. He leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead.

"For what it's worth," she said "Once the doctor gives it the all clear, we're not leaving the bedroom for a week."

Matthew couldn't help but laugh, feeling himself blush.

"I look forward to it."

* * *

Alfred walked back to the flat on campus rather than take the bus, the clear, cold air of autumn blowing the cobwebs from his mind and allowing him time to think. He had really screwed up, but it wasn't unsalvageable: Matty would never know, and he would apologise to Romano properly. He knew he had to get over these feelings for his brother, knew they were wrong and kind of disturbing, but he had never scrutinised his feelings enough to know where his love for his brother ended and his love for Matthew started. Would he really have to think about these things now? He was kind of scared of where that kind of thinking would take him.

What if he never got over his feelings for Matthew? What if his feelings just got stronger, and he got bitter and angry and jealous as time went on? He didn't think he was the kind of person who could just be happy that the person he loved was happy – he was more selfish than that. He would want to keep the one he loved all to himself, but Matthew would hate him for certain... He supposed that perhaps he should talk to someone, but he couldn't even think the word 'psychiatrist' without thinking about Patrick...

As he opened the door to his flat, the smell of beef and garlic wafted out on the warm air. Romano was in the kitchenette, apron around himself, pouring red wine into the frying pan. He looked around as Alfred closed the door behind him, both blushing awkwardly.

"Hey." Al greeted.

"Welcome home." Romano replied "Where have you been all day?"

"I went home for a bit." he admitted.

"Yeah? Well, you should have answered your phone, because now you got no say in dinner."

"Sorry. What are we having?"

"Burgers and chips."

"Really?"

Alfred hadn't eaten burgers since his diet had started, especially something like chips! Needless to say, strict Romano relenting on the program was a surprise. Said Romano blushed a little, looking annoyed as he turned back to the stove.

"If we're having burgers, what's with the wine?" Alfred remembered, walking forward to peek at what he was making.

"I said we're having burgers and chips, not processed shit!" he immediately barked "The burgers are made from steak, minced by myself at _Carriedos_ kitchen this morning, with garlic, onion and black peppercorns. The chips are made from potatoes grown in Tonis back garden, picked fresh from the earth this morning and marinated in-"

Romano stopped talking when Alfred hugged him from behind. He knew what Romano was doing – this was his way of apologizing. Romano wasn't the type to come out and just say 'sorry', but after so long Alfred knew his ways.

"I'm sorry I did something stupid." Alfred said, putting his head on his friends shoulder.

"Well, I let you." was as far to 'sorry' as Romano would go "Let's put this behind us, eh?"

"So we're still friends?"

"Like we could ever not be." Romano spat "Go take a damn shower, I can still smell Francis' cologne clinging to you. Smells like you just walked through a brothel!"

Alfred snickered. If Romano was insulting him, then everything was okay between them. He let Romano go, pulling off his jacket as he headed to the bathroom. He didn't notice Romano turn around to watch him, sighing before turning back to his cooking.

* * *

Ugh, Mondays were the same no matter what country you were in. Maddie and Amelia had class first thing (what kind of sadist schedules advanced mathematics for a Monday morning?) and Kevin couldn't be roused on any day before 10am, so Matthew wondered around campus on his own before his classes started at 11. He knew Canada would be colder than England, but he wasn't prepared for how much colder, jogging slightly in place as he looked at the bus timetable: there was a movie they all wanted to see, so he had been elected to organise the trip.

"Heads up!"

Matthew looked around. A football flew through the air towards him. He took it on the chest easily, kneeing it up and few times before grabbing it. It had been a while since he played football (it was more Alfred's thing), but it made him feel at home to have a football in his hands, not one of those glorified rugby balls.

Another student ran over, large net full of footballs tossed over his shoulder.

"Sorry, sorry!" he said "That one got away from me. Hey, you from Europe?"

"Yeah." Matthew answered "How can you tell?"

The student laughed as he put the net down, tying his dreadlocks back away from his face. He was pretty tall – taller than Matthew even – and while he looked heavyset, it was kind of hard to tell if it was fat or muscle.

"Americans don't play keepie-upie." he told him "They'd try to throw the ball back!"

Matthew considered how Kevin and Amelia would react in front of an errant football, and he couldn't deny that there may be some truth in that assessment. He handed the ball back to the student.

"I didn't know there was a football club." he mentioned.

"It's only for girls." the student grumbled as he put it back in the net "And they play it like a bunch of five-year-olds. I'm here on a sports scholarship, so I gotta coach a children's team."

"Sounds rough." Matthew sympathised "Are they any good?"

"They will be!" the student swore "I'm Carlos, previously from the Republic of Cuba. You?"

"I'm Matthew." he introduced, shaking the offered hand "From Britain. I'm doing environmental studies."

"Solid." Carlos complimented "So, one foreigner to another – how freaked out are you by the portion sizes here?"

"Fairly freaked out." Matthew laughed "My American friends are even more shocked – they say it's much smaller than what they're used to!"

"Good, I thought it was just me! Are you busy right now? I could use a hand moving some equipment – I'll pay you back with a carton of ice-cream."

Well, Matthew wasn't busy, but he didn't like the idea of moving sports equipment around...

"What kind of ice-cream?" he asked.

Carlos snorted with laughter, breaking out into a wide grin.

"I like you already."

* * *

Something had definitely happened between Alfred and Romano, and Jacques was more than a little annoyed that neither of them was talking about it. He could tell because Romano was sulky and Alfred couldn't look him in the eye. However, Alfred did seem to have renewed determination where his exercise was concerned, thundering along with bulldog determination on the treadmill. Jacques couldn't even say anything without letting those two know that he could read them... He watched Alfred run, trying to figure it out. Had they slept together or something?

He handed Al his bottle of water as his session ended, and he seemed triumphant.

"I'll fit back in those jeans in no time!" he swore "I put them on today – I can't do them up and they're tight as hell, but I got them on!"

"That's great progress!" Jacques agreed "Have you thought about where you want to go after that?"

"Hm? After?"

"Yeah – you're the type who puts on weight easily." Jacques pointed out gently "It'd benefit you to have a regular fitness regime. You wanna tone up or stay slim?"

Alfred thought a moment. While it was true that Alfred was that type, a good diet and moderate exercise would probably keep him healthy enough, but Jacques didn't want his alone time with the cutie to be cut short when he finally fit back in those jeans.

"I don't want to bulk up." Al decided finally "I'm joining the police after uni, and Vash says being fast is more useful than being strong, since you have to chase people sometimes. Maybe I should work on sprinting?"

"You strike me as more of a marathon runner, but we'll work on it."

They went to the changing room to shower, and Jacques couldn't help checking him out just a little bit. The weight loss was starting to be noticeable.

"You're in a good mood today." he pointed out "Did something good happen?"

"Not even close!" Alfred said happily.

"Really?" Jacques laughed.

"I just decided to change my attitude!" Al admitted as he scrubbed the soap over his arm "Being miserable's not going to change anything, and I'm stoked that my diet is working, so I've decided to be happy."

"Then something bad happened?" Jacques pried.

Alfred's happy face fell a moment, eyes going far away, before he forced his smile back on.

"Matty got a girlfriend." he told him "It shouldn't really have been a shock, but it kinda was. I guess I wasn't ready to share him, you know?"

That son of a bitch! How long was he going to keep leading Alfred on like this? And now he had a girlfriend?! Alfred couldn't just be okay with that!

Jacques bit his tongue, washing the product from his hair. He was struck by inspiration.

"Wanna go for a drink?"

* * *

Alfred's tolerance for alcohol wasn't very good – two pints and it was time to leave the pub. Instead of going back their their place, where Romano was sure to mother hen Alfred into bed, Jacques half carried him back to his room. He knew he still had some beer in his mini-fridge, cracking open a few cans the moment they got back. This room being so small, Alfred ended up sitting on Jacques' bed while he set up a movie on his computer.

The cutie got talkative when he was drunk, going on about his brothers and his niece and his video-games and, finally, getting onto the subject of Matty. Jacques sipped at his beer as Alfred flipped through his phone to find a picture of him. He smirked triumphantly, holding out the phone for him to see when he had found it.

"This's Mathy!" he slurred "Ain't he cute?!"

Jacques took the phone to get a better look. Alfred and Matty at graduation, two older men with them. The two were very similar looking.

"You could be brothers." he noted aloud.

"Whatcha mean 'could'?!" Al cried, falling about laughing "Dummy Jack!"

Alfred laughed too hard, falling over onto his side on the bed, giving Jacques a chance to flip through the pictures. He was curious as to who all these people where, since other than Romano and Matty, they all seemed to be much older. Family, perhaps? Alfred stopped laughing, panting a little from the exertion.

"S'not fair." he moaned "Why do I have to share him? Why do I have to be the one left alone?"

His blue eyes started to water as he curled up into a ball. Jacques put the phone down on his desk and sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing Alfred's back reassuringly.

"Why?"

"Al-"

"Why did we have to be born brothers? Why do I have to feel this way? It's not fair!"

Jacques took the open can from Alfred as he started to cry, setting it on the side table. They looked alike because they really were brothers? No wonder he and Romano never spoke of him. Jacques was a little shocked, of course, but never having met Matty he wasn't as shocked as he probably should have been. He laid a hand on Alfred's soft blond hair.

"You really love him, don't you?" he asked.

"I know I shouldn't." Al admitted "But I can't help it."

"Hey, it's okay." Jacques soothed "All of us have had feelings for people we shouldn't as some point or another. You just gotta get over him."

"You think I don't know that?!" Alfred squealed "You think it's that easy?! I miss him to much!"

Jacques silenced him with his mouth, slipping in his tongue when he tried to speak. He couldn't help himself – he slipped his hand down the back of Alfred's jeans, coping a handful as he tried to slip them off. He was stopped as Alfred shoved him away.

"Stop that!" he yelled.

"Al, you need to get over Matty." Jacques pointed out "The best way to do that is to find a new love. I can be that love."

Al pulled a confused face, mind clouded with alcohol.

"That doesn't sound right." he thought.

Jacques kissed him again, and was again pushed away.

"No!" he said loudly "I said stop! I want to go home!"

Well, shit. Jacques backed off. Alfred's face was completely red, still crying from before, as he kept Jacques at arms length.

"I'm sorry." he said sincerely "I didn't mean to scare you."

"I'm not scared!" Al insisted "I just want to go home!"

"You can't go home – you've had too much to drink. Just stay here: I won't do anything you don't want."

Alfred pushed Jacques away completely, getting off the bed and grabbing his phone.

"Al-"

"Go away!"

He wiped the tears from his eye as he left, slamming the door behind him. That hadn't ended how he had hoped: he would have to take things slow with Alfred, it seemed. At least Matty wasn't his ex afteral – Jacques had a better chance of seducing him now.

Keen not to let the night end on such a bad note, Jacques grabbed an extra jacket and ran to catch up with him, finding him standing right outside of the halls door. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked away from Jacques, phone still in his hand.

"Glad I caught you." he said "It's cold out here – won't you come back inside?"

"No." Al said immediately.

"It's cold and you've been drinking – you'll never make it home without a jacket."

"Go away."

"Al-"

"I've called someone to pick me up, so it's fine." he sulked.

So cute... Regardless of what he said, he had still been drinking, and Jacques was uncomfortable leaving him alone. He held out the extra jacket.

"Put this on." he suggested "I'll wait with you."

"Don't bother."

He waited with him anyway. Hetalia was a pretty small town, his lift arriving in less than ten minutes. Jacques thought that, from a distance, he looked like a big man, but felt the urge to run for the hills as he walked up to them, honestly intimidated by the older man size. Alfred, however, looked unhappy.

"Why are you the one who came?" he pouted.

"Arthur's got a cold, and there was no-one to watch Michelle." the older man told him, clearly not happy himself "Why does a nearly 19 year-old boy need someone to pick him up anyway?"

The older man examined him a moment.

"Have you been drinking?" he realised "How much did you have?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Al responded "I wanna go home."

The older man turned to Jacques, who felt himself shrink against the wall. He could tell by the way he scowled that the older man immediately didn't like him. He grabbed a fistful of Jacques jacket, pulling him up to his face.

"You molest my brother in law?" he demanded.

"No!" he answered instantly.

"Good. Because that would be a very unwise thing to do. I might have to do something bad if that happened. You know what I mean?"

"Yes, sir!"

The older man released him, letting him fall back to the ground, before taking Alfred by the shoulder. Al swayed a little as he was led away. Jacques held his breath until the large man disappeared, relieved that he had stopped when Alfred told him to: he didn't want to mess with someone that big.

He went back inside, cursing from the cold. He would have to find a new way to get into Alfred's pants.

* * *

Kids: don't get people you like drunk just to get in their pants. It will only end badly.

Romano carried out his promise to seduce Alfred (see Unwanted Chapter 35: Hypocrite), but it didn't really end the way he had planned. Both Romano and Jacques are trying to get some American arse, but they're going about it in terrible ways: they'll have to buck up their ideas if they want to succeed!

The first appearance of Cuba! Things are nice and simple for Matty and Maddie in this chapter, but they won't stay that way - taking all bets for who's going to be the one to complicate things!

Interesting side note - when I first uploaded this chapter, random parts were in bold and other random parts were missing. Needless to say, I had to reupload it.

How are you enjoying the story so far? Want to see more characters from Unwanted? Want less bitching and moaning at the front of chapter? Drop me a review and let me know what you think!


	5. Chapter 5 An Unwanted Conversation

Sorry this took a while to get out - I've had an ear infection. Anyone who's had one can tell you they're bad news. For anyone else - it feels like a knife is stuck in your ear, you can't hear anything and need antibiotics and strong painkillers to get through the day. I'm feeling better now, but I'm still on the antibiotics and can't hear out of one ear.

As such, please forgive that this chapter is a little short, but I felt like I had to get something out.

* * *

**An Unwanted Conversation.**

Romano punched Jacques in the face. He had come around to check on how Alfred was feeling the morning after, and clearly word had spread. Jacques was bigger than willowy Romano, but being punched in the face still hurt. The smaller man glared daggers at him before trying to slam the door in his face, but Jacques held it open.

"I only came to apologise!" he swore "I know I took things too far last night – is Alfred here?"

"No he's not!" Romano barked furiously "And you're a fucking dead man! Ivan picked him up! Fucking Ivan! The only way you'd be deader is if it was my old man!"

"Who is Ivan? That giant?"

"That recovering alcoholic married to Alfred's brother giant, yes!" Romano confirmed "What the fuck where you thinking?! Who the fuck acts that way?! You're a fucking creep! Don't come by here anymore, you're not welcome! Get your fucking hand off my door!"

"Romano, I don't-"

Romano kicked Jacques hard, only just missing his vital regions, and slammed the door in his face.

* * *

When Jacques finally found Alfred, he was coming out of his afternoon lecture, still pale and haggard from his hangover (he hadn't drunk that much, what kind of lightweight was he?). He took one look at Jacques and took off in the other direction, but the Canadian was quickly on his heels.

"Hey, Al." he started.

"Go away." was the immediate response.

"I wanted to talk to you about last night."

"After last night I have every right never to talk to you again."

Jacques jumped in front of him, stopping him in his tracks and leaning against the wall in a nonchalant fashion so as not to attract the attention of the milling students.

"Your brother-in-law sure is scary." he started again "I thought he was going to kill me."

"He's a recovering alcoholic." Al pointed out "Seeing me like that wasn't exactly good for him – you're lucky he didn't throttle you!

"I'm sorry, Alfred." he said "I didn't realise you were like that."

Al pulled a face.

"Like what?" he asked.

"Well... a virgin."

Alfred went scarlet, and Jacques couldn't help but think it was adorable, especially as he started to stutter in disagreement.

"It's okay, it's okay." he assured, waving his hands "There's nothing wrong with being a virgin."

"I'm not a virgin!" he shrieked "And that's not the issue here!"

"Alright, calm down." Jacques laughed "I just meant that if I knew you were so inexperienced, I wouldn't have come on so strong."

Alfred was clearly more embarrassed than he had ever been, clutching his bag straps as his ears turned red. His eyes started darting around at the other people in the hallway, so Jacques laid a hand on his shoulder.

"I really am sorry." he said again "Why don't we start over? I don't want our relationship to end on such a sour note."

Alfred gave him a serious look, annoyed but thinking. Jacques felt optimistic until he opened his mouth.

"At best, you tried to take advantage of me while I was drunk." he pointed out "At worst, you got me drunk so that you could take advantage. You don't see anything wrong with that?"

"I think you're overreacting." Jacques admitted "It's not like you're a girl."

Al punched Jacques in the face. By the time the Canadian had regained his balance, Al was gone.

* * *

Al had never felt more alone in his life. Matty was across the other side of the ocean, thanks to his stupidity there was a rift between him and Romano, and he couldn't trust his new 'friend' as far as he could throw him. He felt like a wreck. He wanted to drop out of uni, go home and live like a hermit in his childhood bedroom, watching cartoons and playing videogames until everyone forgot he ever existed.

Instead, he went to Carriedos, sat in the corner table, and ate everything. Pizza, paella, garlic bread, tomato dishes, pasta dishes, all washed down with a side of diet coke. He got worried looks from the waiters when he ordered his third main dish, but they bought it all the same. He didn't care when he started to feel physically sick, since it covered up the aching, hollow feeling in his gut.

"Hey cutie, you'll lose that trim figure if you keep eating like that."

Alfred looked up, knowing Felix's voice well enough at this point (he had been Francis' boss when he was a child). The spa owner smiled at him, friendly but concerned, his skirts thankfully a bit more modest now that he was getting older.

"Hey, Felix." he said "Sorry, I don't really feel like company."

"Yeah, I can tell." he replied, sitting down anyway "I can see what you're eating, but what's eating you?"

"What makes you think anything is?" Al snapped, hoping his harsh tone would drive the older man away.

"Because you and Francis are just the same." Felix replied, smirking a little "Every time he gets upset he stuffs his face."

"He does?"

"Yeah, but he's way vainer than you, so he won't eat for like a week afterwards. So, what's wrong? Girl trouble?"

Felix put his head in his palm, prying intently. Al looked around to see Toris sigh unhappily, take away bag in his hands, knowing their dinner would be cold before they got it home. Noticing he didn't reply right away, Felix cocked an eyebrow.

"Boy trouble?" he asked.

Al felt his ears start to burn. Felix smirked happily, Toris honestly surprised.

"I'm not surprised." Felix almost sung "Good looking boy like you – any gay man with a brain would snap you up. So, you caught between two hotties, sugar?"

"Nothing like that..."

"Perhaps you're still on the fence?" Toris suggested, leaning over the table "Not everyone accepts their sexuality as easily as Felix did."

"Yeah, it took me eight years to wear this one down." the blond agreed, slapping Toris' arse "Worth every second."

"Felix!" he scolded.

"It's nothing like that." Al admitted, swirling the pasta on his fork.

He didn't really want to open up to these people – not that he disliked them or anything, but they were much older than him and family friends at best, so anything he said might get back to his brothers. However, the two men waited for his answer, eyes locked on him. He was afraid he would cry if he opened his mouth, so stuffed it full of pasta. Felix and Toris looked at each other, then the blond shifted to the next chair so his husband could sit down. When Al just kept eating, Toris seemed to come to a conclusion.

"I bet you're missing Matthew like crazy." he supposed "You two have never been apart this long before, have you?"

Alfred's throat suddenly got tight, eyes stinging. He couldn't bring himself to swallow his mouthful of food, instead trying not to choke on the masticated mass.

"Bingo." Felix realised.

"How is Matthew getting along in Canada?" Toris asked "Is he making friends?"

Alfred finally swallowed, eager tears disappearing along with his food, allowing him to compose himself.

"He's got a girlfriend." he told them.

"That's great!" Toris enthused.

"Is she cute?" Felix asked.

"Yeah." Alfred admitted "Like the cutest girl that ever existed."

"And you're jealous?" Toris asked.

"I guess."

"I'd be jealous too." Felix admitted "Matthew's a total teddy bear, I'd hate to have to share him."

"You're awful." Toris sighed.

"I'm right, though. Look at his face, you can see I'm right."

Al wiped his mouth with his napkin, hoping it would hide whatever expression he was pulling that let Felix read his mind. He was expecting judgemental looks from Toris, but instead he nodded understandingly.

"Makes sense." he thought "You two have always been together, and now there's suddenly someone else. It's only natural that you would feel lonely."

The young man was touched – with just a few words, he felt vindicated, like it was okay for him to miss Matty so much. Remembering himself, he sighed.

"But we're not little children anymore." he pointed out "I shouldn't be so attached to him still."

"Says who?" Felix challenged "Who told you that you have to feel a certain way at a certain time? They're liars, whoever they are."

"Felix." Toris sighed again.

"No, I'm totally right." he insisted "The world's full of people telling you how you should feel, and they can all kiss my arse. You miss Matty like you lost a leg? You miss him for all the people who were ever told that they shouldn't miss anyone! You jealous of his new squeeze? You be the biggest green eyed monster that ever roared! Fuck those people trying to tell you how to feel!"

"Felix, we're in a restaurant." Toris pointed out "Stop swearing."

"That's not the whole thing." Alfred admitted quietly "There's other things too."

"You did something stupid." Felix somehow knew, making Toris sigh again "What, you're surprised? That's the privilege of youth. We all have people we regret sleeping with then we were young."

Toris gave up caring, going to his happy place and leaving the conversation behind. Alfred sympathised with him, but what Felix was saying was pretty reassuring too.

"I'm not sure what I should so about it, though." he admitted "It just seems like I keep making bad decisions. Or they're being made for me..."

"I say you do a 'Matty.'" Felix suggested "He saw a little cutie he wanted, and he went out and snagged her! You gotta find your cutie!"

"His words are a little off, but his message is true." Toris agreed "He's a great advocate for grabbing what you want with both hands."

Felix smirked, making Toris go very red as he rubbed his ear lovingly, subtly hinting that Toris was one of the things he grabbed. Toris leaned a little away from him, but Felix just leaned with him.

"Perhaps not a person, but a future goal." the brunet went on "You want to join the police, right? Do you have anything else going on? Perhaps you need something like that to focus on, keep your mind on track. You'll probably make better WE'RE IN A RESTAURANT!"

Toris jumped away from Felix, who had undone his collar and starting kissing his neck. Toris gave him the stink-eye and sat back down on the other side of the table, beside Alfred. Felix just smirked, waving at him flirtatiously.

"But seriously." the blond went on "You've had your little tantrum with all this food, so the time to make bad decisions is over."

As simple as that, eh?

"You say that like it's easy." Al sighed.

"It is." Felix insisted "Just ask Arthur and Ivan what decisions they made. Then do the opposite."

Al snorted with laughter, which seemed to be Felix's desired response. It was at this point that Antonio, having been told by the staff that some takeaway customers had sat down at the table, appeared to shoo them away, asking Alfred if wanted and dessert before going back into the kitchen.

* * *

Romano wasn't best happy with Alfred's little binge, laying on the attitude thick the moment he got through the door.

"I hope you realise I'm not cooking for you any more!" he barked, even as he furiously cut up carrots "If you're just going to flush all my good work down the drain, I don't care what you eat! Do as you please! And don't blame me if you throw up!"

"Sorry."

"Don't lie! You're not sorry at all!"

"Hey, Romano?"

"What?"

"Would it be okay if I hugged you?"

Romano looked around from the kitchen counter. Alfred leant against the arm of their little sofa, arms crossed over his chest awkwardly.

"Who so formal?" Romano asked "You never asked before."

"Well... yeah..." he admitted "I always hugged Matty whenever I wanted. Now he's not around, my arms feel kind of lonely."

"Well, he is bigger than me." Romano reasoned "But still, why so formal? Why don't you just do it?"

Alfred blushed awkwardly, looking away from him a moment.

"Well, y'know... after what happened, I thought it might be awkward for you."

"'What happened'? Good grief, try to make it sound less traumatic, will you?"

"Sorry."

Romano put the knife down, wiping his hands on his apron before turning to him, arms open to signal that hugging him was perfectly fine. Al nearly jumped at the opportunity, hoping it wouldn't be too weird as he wrapped his arms around the smaller man. Romano hugged him back, giving him a squeeze.

"It's weird." he thought "I thought fat men would be softer to hug – kind of squishy – but you're pretty solid. Not squishy at all."

"Well, I have been working out." Al laughed.

It wasn't quite the same, hugging Romano. He wasn't as tall as Matty, and was slimmer, and smelled subtly of cologne. It wasn't unpleasant, but it wasn't the same.

"Are you going to keep going to the gym?" Romano asked "I mean, with Jacques and all."

"Hm." Alfred hummed "I've decided to give him a second chance."

"What?!" Romano declared, releasing him from his hug just to glare at him "What the hell for?!"

"Well... people make mistakes." he reasoned "It's not like he actually did anything."

"So, what, he's actually gotta rape you before you cut him out?" Romano barked "Was what happened not a big enough red flag for you?!"

"Romano-"

"Romano nothing!" he yelled "If someone got Feli drunk and felt him up, I'd cut off their nuts! Tell your brothers, I dare you!"

"Romano." Alfred said again "Like you never did anything stupid and regretted it later? Everyone deserves a second chance!"

"Like hell they do!"

"Come on, be fair! You had a moment like that not long ago yourself!"

"I don't regret sleeping with you!" Romano admitted "You're the only one that regrets that! And neither of us got the other drunk!"

Alfred, whose hands were still on Romano's waist, went scarlet again as the gravity of what his friend said dawned on him. Romano seemed to catch his tongue too late, but being stuck between Alfred and the kitchen counter, he had nowhere to run too. He also blushed, looking anywhere but at him.

"Anyway, giving Jacques a second chance is a mistake." he insisted.

Alfred pulled him back into the hug, startling him. Romano's arms hung in the air a moment, not sure what to do, before Alfred spoke.

"I'm sorry." he said "I didn't give your feelings enough thought: I thought it was just as mistake. I'm sorry."

Romano was happy his face was buried in Alfred's shoulder: he didn't want him to see how embarrassed he was. Alfred could be pretty thoughtless – they both could – so knowing that he was thinking about his feelings made him happy. He sighed, aggravated, and tapped the bigger man on the shoulder to indicate he wanted to be released. Al let him ago.

"Well... do what you want." he said "But if Jacques does anything like that again, not only am I going to tell Antonio, but I'm telling Matthew as well."

"Consider me warned." Al chuckled "What's for dinner?"

* * *

I certainly wouldn't have made the same decision as Alfred, and it certainly may come back to haunt him. Not Matty and Maddie in this chapter, though.

Please review!


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